Papillon

Giovanni

Achieving prominence during the Venetian Renaissance, the Giovanni family built their fortune on the rise of the middle class and the ready profit of banking and Mediterranean trade (and the criminal enterprise that came with it). However, with the family’s rise came hubris, as its paterfamilias sought ever more power, and with that hubris came horror. With his earthly power at its apex, Augustus Giovanni turned to the arts of controlling the dead, and in doing so, gained the Embrace from a forgotten Antediluvian. With a conclave of conspirators, the Giovanni plunged a now-forgotten Clan into oblivion and built their own legacy on its corpse. Since those first nights, the Giovanni have accepted no limits on their ambitions, despite opposition
from Kindred outside their Clan and a well-deserved reputation as “Devil Kindred.” They studied forbidden arts, becoming formidable in the nigrimancy that allowed them power over the spirits of the departed, and degeneracy followed in the wake of unclean ritual. To this night, the Giovanni are known for the insular nature of their Clan and the incestuous practices by which
they populate it. A few outside families and factions fall under Giovanni auspices, but the vast majority of the Clan comes from the debased mortal family. The family remains successful despite all of their ghastly peccadilloes, and has amassed a vast wealth through crime, politics, and the secrets of the dead that keeps them in their position of degraded opulence.
In public view, the Giovanni make a great show of humility and respect. Part of this gentility is a habit of centuries, still in place from when the other Clans hunted the usurping Necromancers (and to preserve their hard won neutrality from the conflict between the Camarilla
and the Sabbat). Another part of it is the velvet glove hiding the iron fist of their nature, remarkable for forcing ghosts, minds, and bodies alike to bow to their needs. To hear the Giovanni tell it, Princes and Archbishops alike owe them favors, and anyone with something
to offer may earn their patronage. For the most part, the Giovanni pursue their own agenda of cultivating wealth and building a foundation of power in the lands beyond the veil of death. Outsiders rarely comprehend the goals of the Necromancers, but only the most trusted of the Giovanni know that the Clan wants to plunge the world into a state where the dead and the living commingle. And with their mastery of Necromancy, the Giovanni would be positioned to rule it all.

Background: Giovanni of the main family branch have usually spent some amount of time as a ghoul in a practice known as the Proxy Kiss. During this time, the Kindred-to-be learns about the treacherous and jealous reality of the vampire family. She learns ambition and an
unhealthy dose of duplicity, in addition to the family history and customs. Giovanni rarely see much of the outside world on their own terms during the Proxy Kiss period, and often become insular and alienated, while at the same time eager to stand out among the other family ghouls.

Clan Disciplines: Dominate, Necromancy, Potence

Weaknesses: The Kiss of a Giovanni vampire causes excruciating pain in mortal vessels who receive it. If the Giovanni isn’t careful, her vessel may die of shock and agony before being wholly exsanguinated. When a Giovanni feeds upon a mortal, she does twice as much damage as the Kiss of another vampire would inflict. For example, if a Giovanni takes one point of blood from a mortal vessel, that victim would suffer two health levels of damage. As a result, they tend to use blood banks and other means of feeding that don’t fight as much.